European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 3, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 b the stars and stripes . Wednesday March 3,1993marines warn panel about deep cuts by Chuck v1nch Washington Bureau Washington shrinking the Marine corps to the Levels proposed by the gush administration would Force service planners to Back away froth some current missions or risk decimating their mid level no and officer corps the nations top ranking Marine told lawmakers tuesday. Gen. Carl e. Mundy jr., commandant of the Marine corps said an internal study done about 18 months ago showed that the service could not drop below a troop level of 177,000 without hurting the Force. The service now has about 185,000 troops. Mundy told the House armed services military personnel subcommittee that dropping to a currently planned end strength level of 159,000 by fiscal 1997, while retaining All current missions would mean that More marines would spend More time on deployments. In stressing his View that even the Bush administration s end strength figures could be harmful Mundy left the sub-committcc�?T$16 members a half of them freshmen with Little or no military background r with the unspoken impression that deeper military personnel cuts hinted at by president Clinton could be r. Hit photo Marine Gen. Carle Mundy or. A. A a a a even More damaging to readiness. Mundy said the Marine corps which he called a the nations 911 Force Quot now maintains a major presence in the Western Pacific and smaller expeditionary units in the Mediterranean sea and Indian Ocean White also retaining the capability to respond to situations in regional hot spots. Quot it would be impossible to drop below 177,000 and keep All our current missions without seriously degrading the Quality of life for Many marines a Mundy said. A we will break the Force if we drive it too  on average marines spend about 43 percent of their time on deployment or training and preparing to deploy which in either Case Means being separated from their families he said. Dropping to 159,000 troops without giving up at least some missions would boost that figure to Well Over 60 percent a we know that we would drive out Many mid level troops who would not want to be away from Home for such Long periods he said. A we can to keep them on deployment so much of the time a the subcommittee s hearing is the first in a series that will give each service the Chance to thoroughly school the subcommittee members in the intricacies Quot of its Mission responsibilities and the personnel requirements to meet them. Rep. Ike Skelton d-mo., the subcommittee chairman has called the hearings to make sure his panel understands the relationship Between Force Structure Mission requirements and manpower needs. A we need. To ensure that a mismatch does not develop during a period of fundamental change a he said. Skelton wants such top to Bottom service presentations so that the subcommittee has a solid basis from which to pro coed when it considers the personnel aspects of Clinton s first defense budget proposal due to be unveiled later this month Mundy sought to highlight the Marine cd rps versatility in responding to an array of missions including combined operations and sustained fighting humanitarian assistance evacuation of noncombatants from trouble spots and Security for All state be payment facilities and five Navy bases overseas. The Marine corps does All that and More at a Cost of less than 6 cents out of every Dollar spent on National defense he added. One subcommittee staffer gave Mundy High Marks for a a very impressive presentation a but said that was Only to be expected. A it s a Safe bet that All the services will Roll out their heavy artillery for this series of hearings a the staffer said. A this is one of the Best shots  get to make their pitch before the budget crunching gets underway in  los Angeles apr Hillside homeowners Beach devotees movie makers and amusement Park lovers Are having a difficult time find Silver lining in the Clouds that have inundated Southern California this Winter. A weeks of rain that ended a six year drought also sent houses tumbling from Hilltop perches buried roads under Rock ant mud and often brought traffic to a crawl on the area s teeming of raceways. Since july los Angeles has been deluged with 23.78 inches of rain More than twice Normal Levels. And More could fall through april As the global weather disturbance called Al Nino strengthens Over the Pacific. Some folks in this normally Sun drenched Region refuse to let the weather Dampen their spirits saying the rain is a Welcome change a and Good for business. A let it rain a said to games an employee of a Tan not everyone is Happy they Sandwich cart operator Bill a the food dude Berry said he does no to mind braving Slippery streets on his lunchtime route of downtown office buildings. Quot my business goes up 50 percent on Rainy Days a Berry said. A i do $50 More a Day when it Rains. And in a Region where the automobile is. King car washes and Auto retailers have kept Busy cleaning up vehicles spotted by rain and smeared with mud. Quot after the rain Falls our phone rings off the Hook a said Steve Carey whose company in celebrity studded Malibu specializes in washing Ana waxing clients vehicles at their Homes or offices. Quot we re pretty popular in Malibu where so Many of the roads Are dirty due to mudslides and Rock slides a he said. Runners training for next weekend s los Angeles Marathon have found the Cool weather and rain to be a Blessing. The storms have left the skies Over the Region relatively free of smog. A it s perfect running weather a said Tom Lacie a fitness club owner who is training several runners for the Marathon. Quot even if it Rains you Don t mind. Its kind of refreshing when the rain hits your  but Southern California s amusement Parks have found Little to smile about this Winter. Disneyland knotty a Berry farm and six flags magic Mountain have seen smaller crowds because of the uncertainty of the weather. Heavy rain in december forced a rare one Day closure of Disneyland. A nobody in the outdoor attraction business looks Forward to this kind of Winter a said Disney spokesman John Mcclintock. The rain has delayed production of to shows and movies filmed on los Angeles streets. Heavy Rains this month twice forced producers of the Warner Bros film demolition Man to delay the detonation of an abandoned building in downtown los Angeles. The spectacular explosion a key scene in the action thriller starring Wesley Snipes and Sylvester Stallone was finally filmed last week during a break in the weather. A. Quot normally a Little bit of rain Isnit a problem but the kinds of ram we be been getting can create terrible problems a said publicist Peter Silbermann. A it tiered a the artistic risk that things won t look the Way they should and you want to make it  such delays can run up the costs of a movie. Silber Mann said he was Uncertain How much the demolition Man postponements Cost the makers of the film. At Geoffrey a a trendy Bluffs the eatery in Malibu featuring alfresco dining the Rainy foggy weather has been an incredible headache a said spokeswoman Robin Thomas. R a your business drops dramatically when it Rains Thomas said. A  we have a Core of Loyal customers who come in rain or  outdoor Swap meets a favorite among Cost conscious Southern California shoppers also have suffered. J re a adj univ converted drive in theater in Redondo Beach was rained out nine Days in january manager Jack Hahn said. A we lose Money naturally because vendors Don t come out Hahn said. A but it really hurts our vendors. A lot of these people Are unemployed Laid off from the aerospace Industry and this might be their Only source of income. A Gorilla of his dreams just gives him the cold shoulder Gulf Breeze Fla. A he offered her the hand of Friendship. She bit it. He tried to give her a hug. She scratched him on the neck. Thus went the first meeting Between colossus and Muke More than four years ago at the zoo. The two gorillas have not shown much More compatibility since and failed to produce offspring. Zookeepers have decided to end the relationship and seek new mates for them. A a she a a pretty Tough female. She has knocked the hell out of some males in other zoos a zoo director Pat Quinn said monday. A a she a bigger than a lot of  but the 275-Pound Muke on Breed ing loan from the St Louis zoo met her match in the 570-Pound colossus billed As the largest Western Lowland Gorilla in Captivity. Quot she was not Able to dominate him or intimidate him a Quinn said. That May be Why Muke 27, and colossus 28, both still in their prime have failed to Breed. Quot our primary problem was that Muke is not a regular cycler. She does not ovulate Quot Quinn said. Tests however show colossus is Fertile. The zoo has tried drugs and gotten advice from primate experts and a human Fertility specialist but to no Avail. Poll finds mixed opinions on Clinton economic plan Washington a most americans support president Clinton a economic plan but also say he Isnit doing enough according to a Washington Post Abc news poll. And Clinton s Overall approval rating of 60 percent is lower than that of either president Bush who had 76 percent approval after a month in office or president Reagan at 68 percent a month into his first term. The Survey published tuesday in the Post said 58 percent approve of Clinton a handling of the Economy and 63 percent approve of his approach to foreign of. Fairs. The findings were based on a Telephone Survey of 1,216 adults conducted feb. 25-28. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage Points. Sixty one percent see Clinton As a new style Democrat who will be careful with the Public s Money Quot compared with 35 percent who called him a a old style tax and spend  Clinton s economic proposals got 59 percent approval from those polled with 62 percent saying the Economy would be helped and 57 percent saying the deficit decreased though 53 percent thought the proposals would Hurt their own economic situation. But 56 percent said his policies did no to go far enough to stimulate the Economy 68 percent said they did no to go far enough to reduce the deficit and 75 percent said they fell Short on reducing Federal spending. A r